


Behind the Lens

by chenhuns



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-04
Updated: 2015-09-04
Packaged: 2018-04-18 23:02:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4723544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chenhuns/pseuds/chenhuns
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Baekhyun runs soloist Chen's biggest fansite. Just when he starts to realise that his feelings for the singer are bordering inappropriate, he meets someone on the Internet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Behind the Lens

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2015 round of BaektoBaek.

Baekhyun brings his hand up to rub at his neck, trying to straighten out the kinks while his other hand holds a steaming hot cup of coffee. A quick glance at the clock tells him that it's four in the morning, and staying up is starting to take its toll on him. He's chasing a deadline and he's nearly there, left with four more hours before he needs to send the final deliverables to his client.

He's a freelance graphic designer who works from home, and he has a reputation good enough that big name companies come to him for work regularly. It pays the bills with some extras, or rather a lot of extras, so Baekhyun doesn't really mind even when the clients are fickle and difficult to deal with.

His current client had contacted him a few hours earlier just as he was getting into bed, requesting a few minor last minute changes, and Baekhyun knows that when they say minor, they really mean major changes. Normally, Baekhyun would reject them and firmly emphasise his policy of working only during office hours, but he has a personal appointment to attend to that doesn't allow him to work later in the day.

The good thing about working in his own time at his own pace is that Baekhyun doesn’t need to follow a strict schedule as long as he meets his deadlines. It’s more than ideal for him, and he’s living quite comfortably making a living off of graphic designing and yet still have the time for his own hobbies. It’s been nearly five years and Baekhyun hasn’t regretted anything.

If there is something he does regret, it’s only staying up to cater to the clients.

 

Baekhyun finishes with an hour to spare, zipping up the content before sending the file to his client via email. It’s nearly seven in the morning, and Baekhyun has less than five hours of sleep left before he needs to get up again. His appointment only starts at four, but he needs be there at least two hours earlier.

Dropping his mug into the sink, Baekhyun looks around his kitchen before deciding against breakfast. On the way to his room, he checks on his camera that he left on his dining table, ensuring that he has a full battery and a couple spare memory cards in addition to the one already in the camera. He’d normally bring a tripod along but he doesn’t need it today, and now that Baekhyun is absolutely sure he’s ready to go, he dives into bed for the five hours of sleep that his body desperately craves, evident by the way he knocks out the moment his head hits his pillow.

 

Baekhyun surprises himself by waking up on time and he’s out the door within minutes. It’s freezing cold in sub-zero weather and he’s bundled up in his favourite sweater and coat, a beanie over his head, a long scarf wrapped around his neck and a big pair of glasses perched on his nose. His camera equipment is heavy, slung across his shoulders and his other necessities are in his backpack. The trip to the venue takes about an hour and Baekhyun dozes off on the subway, waking up just in time to get off at his stop.

As expected, he’s surrounded by young teenage girls the moment he alights the train. There’s an outdoor concert going on later in the evening and that’s exactly where Baekhyun is heading. The concert line-up has quite a few big names, but the only person Baekhyun is there for is the soloist, Chen.

Baekhyun has been following Chen since his debut, entranced by his unique voice and handsome looks. The last thing he expected to be was a fansite master, yet he’s been trailing behind Chen with his camera for the past three years. His fansite, Funky Orange, has a large following and Baekhyun takes pride in being Chen’s biggest fansite to date. A lot have tried to overtake him but they’ve failed and closed along the way. Baekhyun’s been checking on the statistics himself – he has the largest number of followers on all his social media accounts and his site itself is nearly reaching five hundred thousand active members – and he’s sure no other fansite has numbers that come even close to his. 

Baekhyun doesn’t realise he’s smirking to himself until he gets a few weird looks from the girls around him, and he wipes it off immediately to school his expression into a nonchalant one even though he’s still feeling pretty damn proud of himself. He swiftly makes his way to the venue and gets entry past the barriers with his ticket, setting up his equipment at the very front. There are some fansite masters around him and he greets them with a friendly smile, keeping up an approachable front just in case he needs their help someday though he highly doubts it.

One other thing Baekhyun takes pride in is that he doesn’t follow Chen outside his official performances and appearances, unlike the other fansite masters.

The emcee on stage announces that the concert is going to start soon, and Baekhyun stands by his camera. He knows Chen will show up only at the very end, being the biggest name on the list, but there’s a girl group performing before Chen does and he wants to snap a couple of pictures for his friends.

Just in time, his phone vibrates with messages from them in their group chat.

__**Chanyeol** : don’t forget pictures of my favourite  
 **Sehun** : don’t forget mine too  
 **Kyungsoo** : why don’t you guys just open your own fansites and accompany baek on his schedules  
 **Chanyeol** : too much effort  
 **Sehun** : no extra cash to spare  
 **Jongin** : and some of us have no time because we have to study, unlike baekhyun hyung 

Baekhyun snorts.

__**Baekhyun** : you’re all paying for my dinner later  
 **Chanyeol** : depends on the pictures you give me  
 **Sehun** : yeah it depends  
 **Jongin** : stop being a parrot  
 **Sehun** : shut up asshole, i mean every word  
 **Baekhyun** : i’ll let you know when i’m done, usual place for dinner, yeah? 

Baekhyun pockets his phone as the music starts to blast through the speakers, the bass thumping loudly and his ears would have hurt if he wasn’t used to it. He honestly hates concerts like this because he needs to be there early but there’s nothing for him to do until Chen appears, which normally takes anywhere from one to two hours since the start of the concert. He only clicks away when Chanyeol and Sehun’s favourite girl group comes up, aiming for two of the five members dancing on stage. When they exit, the emcee announces that there’s three more performances before Chen’s turn and Baekhyun groans. Three years would have taught him to be more patient, but Baekhyun isn’t and the only reason why he even endures all of it is Chen.

Fifteen minutes later, it’s finally time for Chen to come on stage and Baekhyun stands up. His camera strap is already around his neck and he’s ready to click away. Chen steps on stage and he looks as stunning as always, dressed in slacks and a shirt underneath a sweater. Baekhyun briefly stops to worry if Chen’s freezing, because that surely can’t be enough layers, but when the music starts Baekhyun lifts his camera again. Chen starts with a dance song and Baekhyun has his camera on high shutter speed to capture every move perfectly, motion blur simply unacceptable.

The next song Chen performs is one of Baekhyun’s favourites, a slow ballad that showcases Chen’s vocal ability and Baekhyun never fails to be amazed by all the high notes Chen can pull. If he’s allowed to say so, Baekhyun would say he’s proud, and that he’s glad he chose to follow the most talented and amazing vocalist the music industry has seen in recent years.

Baekhyun doesn’t stop taking pictures, the shutter sound loud and pleasant to his ears. He’s focused on Chen’s face, so he doesn’t miss it when Chen looks directly into his camera and shoots him a smile as the ballad comes to an end. Chen looking into his camera has happened many times before, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t make Baekhyun’s heart beat rapidly as Baekhyun struggles to keep his cool. Chen’s smile has always been one of the things Baekhyun likes about him, the corners of his lips curling up and making him look like a kitten has Baekhyun’s knees go weak especially when that smile is meant for him.

By the time Baekhyun lets his camera down, Chen is doing his final greetings before stepping off the stage and just like that, it’s over. Baekhyun has over two thousand images that he has to browse through and pick the best, but his arms are aching and he chooses to pack up his equipment first. He’ll post previews later when he’s settled down. On his way out of the venue, Baekhyun texts his friends to change their meetup location to a pork belly restaurant they all love and when both Sehun and Jongin regretfully say they don’t have enough money to spare, Baekhyun tells them that it’s okay, he’ll treat all of them to dinner. 

Chen’s smile does things to him, Baekhyun admits.

 

“Did you get pictures of my favourite?” Chanyeol asks the moment he sits on a chair, reaching for Baekhyun’s camera.

“Nice to see you too,” Baekhyun greets sarcastically, but he lets Chanyeol take his camera anyway.

The other three walk in shortly after Chanyeol’s settled, all of them bundled up in warm clothing and Baekhyun’s glad he decided to treat them all to dinner. Jongin and Sehun both look like they’ve lost weight since the last time Baekhyun saw them, which wasn’t even that long ago, and Kyungsoo looks as tiny as ever. Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo are of the same age at twenty-five, Chanyeol working an office job while Kyungsoo is a kindergarten teacher, and Jongin and Sehun are three years younger, struggling in their last year of university.

“Baekhyun hyung,” Jongin grins.

“Hey, kiddo,” Baekhyun smiles in return, patting his butt before he sits down.

“Let’s order,” Chanyeol says after he looks up from Baekhyun’s camera, gives him a knowing grin and Baekhyun knows he knows. “Baekhyun hit jackpot today.”

“Did Chen smile at you again, hyung?” Sehun asks, raising his eyebrows at him.

“Shut up,” Baekhyun retorts and even as he tries to fight it, he can feel himself colour at the mere thought of Chen.

Chanyeol guffaws and his loud laughter attracts the attention of nearly everyone in the restaurant, and Baekhyun resorts to kicking him under the table to shut him up. Chanyeol whimpers at the strong hit and clutches at his shin, effectively shutting up and Baekhyun grins. Kyungsoo calls the server over and they’ve all been to this particular restaurant enough for Kyungsoo to know what exactly to order even without consulting any of them.

It’s been nearly two weeks since they last saw each other and Baekhyun fills them in on his latest project, not going into too much detail because they wouldn’t understand it anyway. He lets Jongin rest his head on his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist and patting him as Jongin whines about the heavy workload at school. Sehun joins him to complain about how their professor is purposely assigning them more tasks to make their lives a living hell, and Chanyeol snorts.

“Maybe if you stop sleeping in class, she’ll be nicer to you,” Chanyeol suggests, afterwards ducking to avoid Sehun’s fist. “How dare you hit your hyung? Brat!”

"Hyung," Jongin starts, grabbing Baekhyun's attention. "Isn't that...?”

By the way Jongin trails off, Baekhyun knows that it's someone of great importance and he looks up to confirm his gut feeling. Who else would it be if it isn't Chen, changed out of his stage outfit and dressed in a hoodie and a mask covering his face, accompanied by his manager?

"Oh," Chanyeol exclaims loudly, and he manages to grab Chen's attention.

Baekhyun hisses at Chanyeol and delivers another strong kick to his shin, missing this time because Chanyeol has his legs up as if he expected Baekhyun to strike. Baekhyun ends up kicking Chanyeol's chair hard enough for him to fall to the ground, Chanyeol landing on his ass with a painful thud and a groan so loud he attracts everyone's attention, even Chen's. The rest of the group howl with laughter while Baekhyun hides his face in his arms on the table, determined to not let Chen see him, but when he looks up and sees that Chen is smiling at his direction, Baekhyun knows his efforts were futile and Chen has recognised him anyway.

"Thanks for that, asshole," Chanyeol whines, getting back up in his chair with a little difficulty.

"I'm not the one who's trying to ruin my life," Baekhyun retorts, keeping his head low.

"Hyung, even if you try to hide, Chen can still see you from his table," Jongin tells him, cackling when he notices Baekhyun's attempts to stay hidden.

Baekhyun goes red in the face but sits back up straight anyway, clearing his throat and trying to appear normal as their food arrives. He momentarily forgets about his idol sitting somewhere near him as he digs in, Kyungsoo grilling the meat and the rest of them continuing their chat from before Chen came in. Baekhyun misses being with them like this, misses being able to meet them for dinner nearly every day from when they were all still students, and them being so broke that most of the time they ate instant ramyun from the convenience store. Now that three of them have jobs, they can afford more food and even pamper their two youngest friends, supporting them through college by filling their stomachs.

"Hey, Chen keeps looking here. Does he know you or something?" Kyungsoo asks Baekhyun, looking up and glancing in Chen's direction.

"Of course Chen knows who he is," Chanyeol replies for Baekhyun. "Baekhyun's the only guy who follows him around like the rest of his fangirls."

"Shut up," Baekhyun hisses again, wondering why he became friends with Chanyeol in the first place.

"Hey, it's a good thing," Chanyeol shrugs. "I'd do the same thing for me to get recognised by my idols."

Baekhyun sighs in relief.

"Except I have better things to do with my life," Chanyeol cackles.

Baekhyun knocks Chanyeol over his head with his spoon multiple times, until Chanyeol screams for mercy.

"You're so loud," Sehun mumbles around his mouthful of meat, stuffing his face full.

Baekhyun chooses to purposely not look in Chen's direction even though the fanboy in him is screaming to at least take a peek, indulging in the food that he's paying for before they're all gobbled up by his friends. He feels eyes on him, but he ignores it because there's no way that it can be Chen. Chen has no reason to keep looking at him.

"Chen is still looking," Kyungsoo says, not helping at all. "Oh, he's leaving."

Baekhyun lets out a breath he doesn't know he’s holding, only to tense up again when he feels a hand brush against his shoulder as two people walk by him. He turns his head to see Chen's back disappearing out the door, his manager settling the bill at the counter. His shoulder tingles, feeling a lot warmer than before.

It's the first time he and Chen has had physical contact outside their formal fansign handshakes and high-fives, even if it’s probably accidental. He likes the warm feeling still lingering on his shoulder, but he wishes it hadn’t happened because all he wants now is more contact and that is something he won't ever get again.

 

The next time Baekhyun sees Chen, it's at another schedule. A radio show this time, and Baekhyun is standing outside the studio. There's only a huge window separating them so Baekhyun can see Chen just fine, being in the front row and sitting on his little stool with the other fansites surrounding him. He snaps away throughout the two hours of the show, entirely focused on Chen's face and getting his little actions of camera. He looks particularly adorable when he stretches his arms out above his head, but his shirt lifts up a bit to show a small sliver of skin and Baekhyun gulps. He can see Chen's happy trail clearly, dark hair going downwards into his pants and Baekhyun brings his eyes back up to Chen's face to distract himself. Chen has a knowing smirk on his face and Baekhyun curses under his breath at the knowledge that Chen was doing it on purpose to rile his fans up.

It isn't the first time that it's happened, but Baekhyun still can't control the flush of his face or the quickening beat of his heart.

 

"I'm doomed," Baekhyun groans, head planting into Kyungsoo's couch after he leaves the radio show.

Kyungsoo hums in reply as he looks over his work documents, sitting on the floor cross-legged and his papers strewn all over his coffee table. Baekhyun called him and asked if he was busy, and Kyungsoo said no and that he's welcome to come over, so Baekhyun does.

"Why are you doomed?" Kyungsoo asks, not even glancing back at Baekhyun as he continues his work, but Baekhyun knows he's listening.

"So you know I've been following Chen for years, right?" Baekhyun questions, even though he knows that Kyungsoo knows. "I never told anyone but there's been times my heart does funny things and there's things in my tummy and I just," Baekhyun trails off, staring at the ceiling.

"Even if you don't tell us, we know," Kyungsoo snorts, putting his papers down. "It's obvious. You get red in the face, you start stuttering, and you never shut up about him."

"But that's what all fans do," Baekhyun tries to defend himself.

"Maybe," Kyungsoo shrugs. "But I have a younger cousin who's a Chen fan just like you, and let me tell you, the way the both of you react are different. She may be a little girl, but your supporting methods are of another league."

"To each his own," Baekhyun attempts again.

Kyungsoo only shakes his head.

"What, you're trying to say I like him more than a fan likes an idol?" Baekhyun laughs, brushing it off.

"Baekhyun," Kyungsoo sighs, looking at him in the eye. "Think of Chen now."

Baekhyun does, no hesitation. He thinks of how Chen smiled at him at the outdoor concert, the brush of Chen's hand against his shoulder, and the most recent, Chen smirking at the radio show. He feels his face heat up even as he tries to will it away, his legs thrashing about and he whines. Kyungsoo's right.

"I'm always right," Kyungsoo sounds smug, and Baekhyun hits him in the face with his own cushion.

"I need to do something about this, don't I?" Baekhyun asks Kyungsoo, clearly worried and that has Kyungsoo shutting up.

"Is there a chance of you getting together with Chen in the near future?" 

Baekhyun shakes his head. 

"Then yes, you need to do something about it."

"How?"

"I'm sure Chanyeol has answers," Kyungsoo responds, turning back to continue his work.

 

Chanyeol's idea was for him to go out and ask anyone he finds hot out on a date, and Baekhyun smacks him across the head. He can be flirty if he wants to, that he knows, but he's not going to hit on strangers and try to start something right away. Jongin, listening in to their conversation, asks him to try blind dates, and Baekhyun thinks that's a better idea.

Except that on his first blind date, he ends up sitting across a dinner table from a greasy old man who looks no younger than forty, balding in certain spots on his head.

Jongin only laughs when Baekhyun tells him over a phone call, and Baekhyun promptly hangs up. Jongin calls back after a few minutes sounding a little breathy, and Baekhyun scowls because it's not funny when he's the one who had to put up with the old man trying to get into his pants with his old wrinkly hands.

"Why don't you try to go on dating sites? Everyone does that nowadays," Jongin suggests. "The advantage is that you don't have to meet them if you don't want to."

Baekhyun stays silent, and then hangs up.

 

Baekhyun signs up for a popular dating site the moment the hangs up, filling up his profile with all the things about him he finds attractive and choosing a profile picture where he looks prettiest. He takes a few hours until he feels satisfied with his profile, staying online until early morning before he decides to go to bed. He hasn't sent anyone messages yet, he'll need to be more awake and fresh for that in case he sends messages to anyone who's suspicious.

He doesn't even need to send messages out, it seems, because he wakes up to a few messages in his inbox. There's three, but all of them don't seem promising at all. The first is from the same old man who went on the blind date with him, and Baekhyun briefly wonders how he found him before he blocks him from contacting him any further. The second is from someone younger than him, probably still in high school, but a quick look at his profile tells Baekhyun that he's a delinquent, proudly boasting that he smokes and is an alcoholic. That's a definite no, even if the tattoos on his arms are kind of hot. The third and last message is from someone who's in a different country, making Baekhyun delete his message right away. He wants someone he can actually meet if he falls for them, not a long distance relationship.

Baekhyun takes his time to browse the different profiles on the dating site, sending out a few messages of his own. It's actually kind of fun, looking for potential boyfriends even if it's kind of dangerous, but Baekhyun feels that there won't be any harm if he doesn't reveal anything too personal or agree to meet before they get to know each other. He resets the filter on his search, changing the distance to somewhere near him, and he gets a lot more profiles than he expects. He scrolls through, none of the pictures appealing to him, until his eyes land on someone too familiar.

This particular person has a profile picture with Chen's face, and Baekhyun's pissed. It's not right to use someone else's picture as your own, even if Chen is mostly popular with young teenage girls only. 

Baekhyun sends an angry message to the person, who only has 'Dae' as his name. Baekhyun crosses out the possibility of the person being Chen himself, because Chen isn't stupid enough, and the profile details just doesn’t seem like Chen at all.

from: byunbaek  
to: kimdae92  
hey, you shouldn't use someone else's pictures as your own. it's not right.

Baekhyun doesn't expect a reply to come, but it does within a few minutes.

from: kimdae92  
to: byunbaek  
i'm sorry, i didn't expect anyone to recognise him here. i'm actually a fan.

Baekhyun softens at that, but quickly grows excited at the thought of meeting another male fan. He's been surrounded by only girls and it's getting tiring. Maybe getting to know another male fan will help make fandom life easier.

from: byunbaek  
to: kimdae92  
really? me too! but is there a reason why you used this pic of him? he's least attractive in this set of photos

Baekhyun cackles, opening kimdae92's profile picture in a bigger window. It's one of Chen's pre-debut pictures, looking young with a bowl cut hairstyle. He was still in high school back then. Baekhyun silently thanks Chen's company for hiring good stylists who only seem to get better over the years, because Chen's visuals have improved a lot since then and Baekhyun finally doesn't have to defend himself for following someone who looks like _that_.

from: kimdae92  
to: byunbaek  
i think he looks cute! chen would be offended if he read this now lol

Baekhyun stills, then he laughs out loud. There's no way Chen would know.

from: byunbaek  
to: kimdae92  
well, i guess i'm lucky he won't ever find out? and hello, my name is baekhyun :)

The replies have been coming in quite quickly, and Baekhyun sits in front of his laptop on his bed. He doesn't have any client projects to work on at the moment, taking a break from work. He knows he should probably update his website with his latest works, but that can be done later.

from: kimdae92  
to: byunbaek  
hello baekhyun, i'm dae :) how long have you been a fan of chen?

Baekhyun starts vibrating with excitement, because _yes_ , he'd like to talk about Chen.

from: byunbaek  
to: kimdae92  
i've been a fan since his debut, actually. something about that picture pulled me in, i'm guessing it's the kittenish smile. ♥（ﾉ´∀`）what about you?

Baekhyun ends up talking to Dae the whole day, not moving from his spot on his bed unless it's to the bathroom or to grab something light to eat. He learns that Dae has been a fan of Chen since his debut too, and when Baekhyun asks why he's never seen Dae around at events, Dae explains that he lived far from Seoul and only recently moved into the city. Baekhyun also finds out that Dae is working a full-time job and although he refuses to tell what kind, Baekhyun tells him that he's a graphic designer anyway. He seems intrigued and Baekhyun offers to show him some of his work, suddenly feeling nervous even though he’s shown his portfolio to many strangers before. He wants to impress him, for some reason he can’t think of. He links Dae to his online gallery where his hosts his images, all watermarked just in case.

to: byunbaek  
from: kimdae92  
funky orange? you did their logo for them?

Right, Baekhyun forgot he had that on there.

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
um, kinda? i’m funky orange lol

Dae goes silent for quite a while and Baekhyun starts to fidget, his fingers playing with the hem of his shirt. Maybe he shouldn’t have revealed that he’s the one behind Chen’s biggest fansite. Many people have been intimidated by him before, and it’s also partially the reason why Baekhyun hardly makes friends within fandom anymore. While most are too scared to even approach him because of his status, those who managed to get on friendly terms with him attempted to make use of him, but Baekhyun knew that they’d try to use him to get closer to Chen. The issue was that Baekhyun himself isn’t on friendly terms with Chen so it was useless for them to even try.

to: byunbaek  
from: kimdae92  
awesome job. your photos are some of the best i’ve seen ^^

Baekhyun heaves a sigh of relief, glad that he hasn’t pushed Dae away with his fansite master status. Dae asks him about his photos and Baekhyun’s more than happy to share, giving him tips on editing the photos although ultimately, the quality of the photos depends on both the camera and the skills of the photographer. Dae seems to be fascinated if his replies are anything to by, punctuated with exclamation marks and shocked faces whenever Baekhyun goes in-depth. He praises Baekhyun, telling him that he’s definitely skilled and that he should be a professional photographer, but Baekhyun brushes it off even though he already knows.

It’s a good thing Dae can’t see his pink cheeks.

to: byunbaek  
from: kimdae92  
hey, i need to go :( i’ll catch you later! really nice talk to you ^^

Baekhyun closes the lid of his laptop after he signs out, setting it aside and then lying on his bed. He stretches, his legs sore from sitting cross-legged for so long. He hadn’t noticed then, but he and Dae talked for a few hours and Baekhyun thinks it’s a good thing. When he signed up, Baekhyun wasn’t expecting to hit it off with someone right from the start but now that he has, he feels good and his body tingles slightly from happiness. He likes Dae, he’s nice to talk to. Having Chen as a mutual interest plays a big part in them getting closer in such a short time, Baekhyun feels.

 

Baekhyun meets his friends for dinner a few days later, meeting at their usual restaurant for some cheap and good food. He treats them to drinks, a small smile etched on his lips the entire time and doesn’t realise until Chanyeol asks him about it. Jongin gives him a knowing grin and Baekhyun beams back.

“Did you find a date?” Chanyeol questions, chopsticks in his mouth.

“No, but I did find another Chen fanboy,” Baekhyun replies, smug.

“That’s against your entire purpose,” Chanyeol groans. “You’re supposed to find a date, a potential boyfriend, not someone who will scream with you over someone else instead of making you scream from beneath him.”

“Crude,” Kyungsoo clicks his tongue, smacking Chanyeol on the arm.

“It’s true,” Jongin agrees.

“I thought you were on my side,” Baekhyun gasps, hooking his arm around Jongin’s neck and putting him in a headlock.

“Jongin’s neutral, don’t trust him,” Sehun comments, stuffing kimchi into his mouth.

“But meeting another fanboy is really nice,” Baekhyun protests as he releases Jongin from the headlock. 

“He doesn’t scream over Chen like the other fangirls do. He supports him quietly, just like me.”

“How is running his biggest fansite considered quiet?” Sehun snorts, and he’s rewarded with a jab in his side that causes him to choke on his water.

“Nothing wrong with making a few more friends while searching,” Kyungsoo shrugs as he pats Sehun’s back.

Baekhyun pauses momentarily before he figures he should continue searching for potential dates. That was his original intention, after all. Dae will probably just stay a friend. Baekhyun doubts their relationship can go any further than that.

 

When Chen announces the release of his new album, the first thing Baekhyun does is to tweet about it on Funky Orange’s Twitter account. Then he checks his schedule to figure out if he has time to follow Chen around on his schedules despite working on a client project, and he does. The project is due before Chen starts promotions, anyway. The last thing Baekhyun does is to go online and tell Dae about it.

Baekhyun and Dae have gotten even closer, chatting nearly every day. While Baekhyun is almost always free to talk, it’s Dae who’s so busy with work that sometimes he doesn’t come online until late at night, but Baekhyun is awake most of the time so they get to talk even if it’s only for a short while. Baekhyun tries to ask about Dae’s job since it seems to be so hectic, but Dae doesn’t give any details other than that he’s required to work overtime all the time. Baekhyun once expressed his concern, asking if Dae has time to eat and take breaks, and he replied affirmatively so Baekhyun leaves it at that.

They mostly share accounts of how their days went, and Baekhyun finds comfort in talking to Dae whenever he’s had a particularly rough day of dealing with tough clients. Sometimes they talk about current issues in the news when Dae starts it, but most of the time it’s celebrity gossip, and Dae always seems to know a lot even though he’s caught up with work. Baekhyun’s curious but he doesn’t ask.

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
chen announced his new album today! the release is next week, i’m so excited!! (ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

to: byunbaek  
from: kimdae92  
i heard! i’m so pumped haha will you be going to music shows?

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
yes, most likely! i don’t have client projects then so i should be able to. i don’t suppose you are? :(

to: byunbaek  
from: kimdae92  
most likely not :( but i’ll contact you if i have time? only if you want, of course haha

Baekhyun’s heartbeat strangely starts picking up at the thought of meeting Dae in person, and he takes deep breaths to calm himself. He's probably just excited at the prospect of finally meeting his new friend in person after sharing so many details of their lives, and not because of anything else.

Or at least that's how he tries to convince himself.

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
yes, that'd be great! i hope you can come to at least one (*^▽^*)

to: byunbaek  
from: kimdae92  
i hope so too :) but i need to go work on something now so i'll catch you later ^^

Baekhyun smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes.

 

"Okay, so you're really doomed now," Kyungsoo raises his eyebrows as a scene too familiar takes place.

Baekhyun is sprawled across Kyungsoo's couch, arm over his eyes, and he groans. He invited himself over when Kyungsoo mentions in the group chat that he's free the entire day, but Baekhyun knows that Kyungsoo was expecting him anyway. Kyungsoo never tells anyone he's free unless he wants some company, even if Baekhyun isn't the best company right now.

"I don't know? Maybe?" Baekhyun questions, sighing deeply.

"Maybe you're overcomplicating things," Kyungsoo suggests, gesturing for Baekhyun to sit up before sitting on the couch himself and letting Baekhyun lay his head on his lap.

Kyungsoo is hardly ever touchy, but for him to initiate this, it means he knows that Baekhyun needs it even if Baekhyun hasn't said anything yet.

"Am I?" Baekhyun asks again.

"Well, you don't know anything about him other than that he's a Chen fan," Kyungsoo says gently.

"Yes, but the feeling I get when I talk to him is the same as when I talk to any of you guys," Baekhyun sighs. "I find comfort in talking to him in the early morning when we're tired, and now that I think about it, we only talk about Chen less than half the time."

"What about the other half?"

"We talk about our daily lives? Sometimes we look at cat videos and coo over how cute they are," Baekhyun smiles, remembering the time Dae had linked him to an adorable video compilation of kittens getting shocked. "I know we haven't known each other for long but we clicked instantly, I guess."

Kyungsoo doesn't say anything, chooses to run his fingers through Baekhyun's hair as he hums in response. Baekhyun closes his eyes and enjoys the gentle feel of Kyungsoo's fingertips against his scalp.   
He heaves another deep sigh. His mind is filled with thoughts, mostly thoughts about Dae and his feelings that he himself isn't sure of. Baekhyun never would have thought that he'd be in an emotional turmoil because of someone he met on the internet.

"Maybe there's something you can do to confirm whether or not you really like him," Kyungsoo wonders.

"He won't meet me," Baekhyun whines. "He told me he'd contact me if he's free to go see Chen but he hasn't at all!"

Baekhyun thrashes his legs about and continues his whining, Kyungsoo taking his fingers out of Baekhyun's hair to smack him on the hip, hard. Baekhyun groans in pain instead, one hand clutching the area where Kyungsoo had hit him. Then a sudden idea comes to him when he realises that Dae won't meet him even if he begged.

"What if I date someone new and tell him about it to try make him jealous? Then I'll know whether he has feelings for me, right?" Baekhyun snaps his fingers, sitting up and turning back to look at Kyungsoo.

"What will be the purpose of that?" Kyungsoo deadpans. "You're trying to find out if you have feelings for him, not the other way round."

"If I find out he has feelings for me, then I can decide whether I want to have feelings for him,” Baekhyun exclaims. "Best idea ever."

“You’re not going to string someone along just for your own selfish benefit,” Kyungsoo hits him square in the face with a pillow and Baekhyun falls over, writhing in pain, and that causes him to change his mind.

Baekhyun decides that he’ll just have to figure out his heart himself.

 

Chen starts promotions for his new album that weekend, appearing on music shows on Friday through Sunday. Baekhyun's cleared his schedule, knowing that he has to be at the venue early enough to snag a spot near the front of the queue. With how big Chen's fanclub is, Baekhyun has to be there anywhere from three to four in the morning before the other fans start arriving. It's cold at that time of day, and Baekhyun brings his warmest coat with him on Friday. He's surrounded by female fans and he silently groans, fidgeting with his phone. He scrolls through his list of contacts but looking at the time, all his friends wouldn't appreciate being awoken at half past three in the morning just to keep Baekhyun company, even if they love him.

Baekhyun opens the dating app on instinct, and he pauses momentarily. He decides _fuck it_ , he'll take his chances, and sends Dae a message.

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
hey, i'm queueing up for music bank rn and it's so cold >

Baekhyun lets out a breath, putting his phone down to rub his hands together. He has gloves on, but it's still freezing. His phone screen lights up, and Baekhyun's eyes dart to it. It's Dae.

to: byunbaek  
from: kimdae92  
i was, but now i'm awake to get some work done. it's not your fault, don't worry haha it's crazy early, though?

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
well, yeah, but you know how big chen's fanclub is... there's already like fifty people here

to: byunbaek  
from: kimdae92  
that's crazy :O if only chen knew lol

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
if he knew, he'd ask us not to do it lol he's that nice ;o;

Dae mentions that he has to go, and the moment Baekhyun puts his phone in his pocket, he feels a little lonely. It’s still barely four in the morning and no one else is awake for him to talk to, and he’d rather not initiate conversation with the girls around him even though they keep giving him curious eyes. Baekhyun figures they’re probably new fans who haven’t seen him around yet.

Baekhyun stays in queue for another two hours before they start giving out official queue numbers, dozing off in his spot as he hugs his legs to his chest in effort to keep himself warm. The wind is relentless, chilly even though Baekhyun's wrapped up in the warmest coat that he owns. His face is frozen, lips dry and Baekhyun can't feel his face. He almost wants to get up and go, because it's crazy for him to stay outside in this weather, but the thought of being one of the first to see Chen sing his new song live keeps him in his spot and strengthens his will.

The next time Baekhyun checks his watch, it's eight in the morning and he's been in the queue for over five hours. The official queue reached its quota long ago but that doesn't stop fans from coming, crowding the artist entrance at the back of the broadcast building with hope that they'd be able to see Chen, even if it's only for a few seconds.

Then his phone vibrates.

to: byunbaek  
from: kimdae92  
hey, you should be able to enter soon, right?

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
i think so, chen's supposed to start in an hour

True enough, the officials start letting the fans in and Baekhyun pockets his phone. He doesn't hear or feel his phone vibrate even after he enters, so he keeps it where it is. He has his light stick in one hand and a fan balloon in the other, rocking on the balls of his feet as he impatiently waits for Chen to appear. He's right at the front and he'll have to literally look up to look at Chen, but he doesn't mind.

It takes another fifteen minutes of waiting before Chen appears, and Baekhyun's breath hitches because Chen looks stunning as he walks up the stage. He's dressed in all-white, and Baekhyun has to remember to breathe again. The girls all around him are screaming but the only thing Baekhyun can do is gape at Chen, his heartbeat rapidly picking up in his chest and it's so fast that Baekhyun's sure he'd be able to feel it if he put his hand over his chest through his thick layer of clothes.

"Hello, I'm Chen," Chen greets the fans brightly, bowing 90 degrees in every direction.

Baekhyun stops resisting the urge to scream and joins the other fans, shouting at the top of his lungs. He waves his light stick vigorously as he feels himself go deaf from the screams all around him, eyes fixed on Chen. Chen smiles his signature kitten smile and Baekhyun's screaming only gets louder.

"This is the first time I'm performing this new song live. How do you like the album?" Chen asks.

"I love it," Baekhyun shouts, managing to attract Chen's attention.

His heart beats even faster than before when Chen's eyes land on him, Baekhyun just standing there as they maintain the eye contact for a few seconds before Chen tears his eyes away, still smiling. For that short moment, Baekhyun feels like sitting out in the cold was worth it. Everything is worth it if it's for Chen, but to have Chen look at him and smile just for him is the ultimate reward.

The girls on either side of him eye him jealously, but Baekhyun pays them no mind. He tunes out everyone else when the music starts playing. It's the first recording and while Baekhyun's sure Chen will have to record at least three times, he wants to pay attention to every single thing Chen does. The new song is a sweet ballad, once again bringing out the best of Chen's vocal ability. Baekhyun's swept off his feet, closing his eyes as he enjoys Chen's crooning. There's no fan chants that they have to do, unlike for Chen's dance songs, and Baekhyun takes the opportunity to really just listen to Chen's strong yet gentle voice.

The first recording is over in a flash and Chen takes a break by the side of the stage, a staff member wiping the perspiration off his forehead with a towel. Baekhyun is lucky enough to be on the side where Chen is resting, so he gets a good view of him. He keeps glancing towards his fans, smiling occasionally when fans chant his name, and Baekhyun can't take his eyes off him. Chen looks amazingly good just sitting there in his white suit, looking exactly like the Prince Charming Baekhyun has always dreamed of having for himself.

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
i'm in the recording rn and chen looks amazing... i have no words o((◕ฺ∀ ◕✿ฺ))o

Baekhyun looks up after sending out the message to Dae and when he looks at Chen, Chen has his phone out and the screen lights up his face. He's smiling at his screen and Baekhyun melts inside. It's a funny sight, but it's one that Baekhyun will remember and treasure - little glimpses of Chen behaving like every other boy instead of the world star that he is.

to: byunbaek  
from: kimdae92  
really? wish i could be there. what does he look like? i need more details!

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
he's wearing an all-white suit and his hair is styled up like how you said you like it. he also looks like the prince charming i've always dreamed of (｡♥‿♥｡)

Chen laughs and Baekhyun looks up from his phone at the sound of it, his heart softening even more when he realises that Chen was laughing at something on his phone. He tries to memorise every detail, keeps the image in his head. Chen seems especially lovely today.

The recording continues, and Chen has to perform two more times. For his last round of recording, Baekhyun keeps his eyes open compared to the previous two rounds where he had his eyes closed to listen to him, and Baekhyun notices Chen glancing to his side of the audience a lot, albeit discreetly. It makes his heart flutter and his hand shake more energetically, wanting to show Chen the best of his supporting abilities although Chen isn't very likely to pick him out from the crowd, even if he is the only boy around.

It comes to an end too fast for Baekhyun's liking, and he keeps his gaze fixed on Chen as he does his closing greeting. Chen's perspiring profusely under the hot stage lights despite just standing there, making Baekhyun want to wipe it off for him. He smiles to himself at the thought, but he snaps out of it when Chen brings the microphone up to his lips.

"I'd like to thank you all for coming today," Chen starts. "I hope you will stay until the end for the live show."

Baekhyun can't stay because he's agreed to a lunch appointment with the guys, but he shouts an affirmative reply anyway.

"Also, I heard that it was really cold outside today but you still waited," Chen says, and everyone suddenly goes quiet. "I appreciate you coming to see me, I'm really thankful, but you don't have to come so early in the morning. Take care of yourselves first, and don't catch a cold!"

Baekhyun goes silent, gaping up at Chen. It feels like Chen's speaking directly at him, with the way he keeps looking at Baekhyun's side of the audience. Half of Baekhyun wants to believe that he is, but the other half of him that's more rational tells him that it's impossible. Chen has no reason to.

"Until now, this has been Chen. See you next time! I love you," Chen closes, waving both his arms enthusiastically as he walks off the stage.

One last time, Chen looks back and meets eyes with Baekhyun. Baekhyun’s heart stops in his chest when Chen winks subtly, his eyes crinkling afterwards as he smiles and disappears into the darkness that is backstage, his manager and stylist trailing after him. All around him, the girls are screaming and Baekhyun assumes they think the wink was for them, but Baekhyun is absolutely positive that they had eye contact and that the wink was especially for him, even if it sounds ridiculous.

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
you will not believe what just happened…

Baekhyun’s forced out of the studio before he could dish out details to Dae, and by the time he’s alone on the subway and more than ready to start tweeting fan accounts, Dae has already replied.

to: byunbaek  
from: kimdae92  
what? did chen recognise you again?!

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
well, i’m not sure if he recognised me but he looked and smiled at my side of the audience a lot   
but the best part was he winked at me before he left  
like ok you will not believe me but I’m 100% sure that wink was for me  
we had eye contact  
♡〜٩( ˃́▿˂̀ )۶〜♡

to: byunbaek  
from: kimdae92  
i believe you, i have no reason not to! how was it?

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
σ(≧ε≦ｏ)  
(ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧  
ヾ(≧∇≦*)ゝ  
(●♡∀♡))ヾ☆*。

 

Baekhyun thinks those emoticons describe exactly how he feels, ecstatic and feeling like he’s a little bit in love.

 

Chen’s next schedule is another music show which Baekhyun attends, queuing up a little later at five in the morning, and he still manages to get a spot in the front. The next one on the schedule is a fansign event, and Baekhyun buys more albums for more chances to be chosen as the system picks winners at random. More receipts, more chances. Baekhyun ends up with nearly a hundred copies of Chen’s new album, but he doesn’t regret anything when he sees his name on the list of fansign attendees.

The fansign is held at a performing hall at one of the universities in Seoul, and Baekhyun prefers it compared to outdoor venues where fans gather and scream obnoxiously all the time. Only the winners are allowed in, and Baekhyun’s quite pleased to find out that there are indeed male fans other than himself. He’s tempted to go up and introduce himself, in hope that maybe one of them is Dae, but he realises that Dae did not mention attending the fansign, and the last time they talked was just a few hours before in the morning.

Baekhyun’s one of the last few fans, sitting in the row furthest from the stage, where the long table is already set up and all ready for Chen to arrive. There are a few big boxes behind the chair on which Chen will be sitting, and Baekhyun knows that’s against the normal routine. Maybe Chen has finally managed to persuade his management to let him receive fan gifts at his fansign event.

It takes another ten minutes of waiting before Chen appears, loud cheering taking Baekhyun’s attention away from his phone. Chen’s dressed casually this time, only in jeans and a sweater, and Baekhyun’s only slightly disappointed that he’s not in all-white like he was at the music show recording. Only slightly, because Baekhyun likes it when Chen is casual like your boy next door too.

“Hello, I’m Chen,” Chen greets his fans, smiling brightly.

Baekhyun feels himself smiling at Chen’s smile, his insides warming up. Chen’s always had this effect on him.

The fansign starts and Baekhyun stays in his seat until he’s instructed to move, observing Chen interacting with the fans and shaking his head at the fansite masters who get caught taking photos secretly. There’s a strict no photography rule as it’s a private fansign but some people just won’t listen. He laughs when their cameras get taken away, hiding his smile behind his fist. They’re the same people who follow Chen around even during his free time, so Baekhyun doesn’t feel sorry for them at all.

His turn comes quickly, and Baekhyun starts feeling nervous when he’s queuing up to go up the stage. He’s fidgety, hands perspiring. He wipes them on his pants as he walks up, clenching his hands into fists afterwards. He’s attended many fansigns and has seen Chen up-close dozens of times, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t make him nervous even after three years.

“Hello!” Chen starts. “Baekhyun, right?”

“Yes,” Baekhyun squeaks, his voice going up a few pitches. “Can I ask you something?” he asks Chen suddenly, knowing he’ll probably regret it. “What would you do if you like someone?”

“Um,” Chen intelligently replies, clearly stunned. He quickly tries to conceal it. “Tell them, I guess?”

Baekhyun hums in response and lets Chen finish signing on his copy of Chen’s album, accepting it when Chen slides it back across the table to him. Chen looks up at Baekhyun to smile at him and Baekhyun’s heart starts beating crazily fast again. He tries to return the smile but it probably turned out ugly because Chen laughs.

“Thanks,” Chen says, reaching his hand out for a handshake.

Baekhyun takes Chen’s hand in his, trying hard to control himself when Chen squeezes his hand. It’s new, because usually they only just shake hands and let go. This time, however, Chen’s squeezing his hand and holding on a little bit longer and while Baekhyun’s confused, he welcomes it. He responds with a squeeze of his own, surprisingly picking up the courage to brush his thumb against Chen’s knuckles lightly.

“Next,” Chen’s manager announces, eyeing Baekhyun suspiciously.

Baekhyun lets go hurriedly and bows to Chen before he walks away, his legs feeling a little weak as he climbs down the stairs. He gets back to his seat with a little difficulty, unable to walk straight as he giddily recalls what just occurred. It's the highest level of fan service he's received yet, and he’s absolutely delighted – so delighted that he pulls out his phone and sends a text to his friends.

__**Baekhyun** : dinner on me tonight, let’s get bbq  
 **Sehun** : thank you, chen  
 **Jongin** : god bless you, chen 

Baekhyun chuckles, shaking his head and pocketing his phone. He looks up just as Chen finishes signing for the last fan and simply watches when Chen gets up and walks to the front of the stage to bid the fans goodbye. He thanks them all for coming and says that he hopes to see them again, and Baekhyun’s eyes keep going to Chen’s right hand which is clasped over the microphone. Normally, he’d start regretting all the things he should have done but didn’t while in front of Chen, but this time, as Chen leaves, Baekhyun has no regrets at all.

 

“I should really thank Chen personally,” Sehun says around a mouthful of meat, closing his eyes and savouring the perfectly seasoned beef.

“Well, too bad you can’t,” Baekhyun snorts, picks a piece of beef from the grill and pops it into his mouth.

“What happened with Chen this time?” Kyungsoo asks.

“We shook hands.”

“That’s happened many times before and we never got a dinner treat,” Chanyeol replies as he eyes Baekhyun suspiciously. “I doubt that’s it.”

“He squeezed my hand, and I kind of did this,” Baekhyun cracks, picking up Kyungsoo’s hand to re-enact the action.

The reactions are instantaneous, Chanyeol howling delightfully as Sehun starts clapping with an amazed look on his face. Kyungsoo pulls his hand away from Baekhyun’s grip and pats his back, and Jongin smiles like he’s proud of Baekhyun. Baekhyun doesn’t get it, doesn’t get why they’re so excited.

“I thought this day would never come,” Chanyeol sobs, wiping fake tears from his eyes.

“Well, I don’t think it’ll happen again so,” Baekhyun shrugs.

“Don’t be so sure,” Chanyeol grins, eyes trained on the door.

Baekhyun knows this has happened before, and he turns around with high expectations, only to be met with disappointment when somebody not Chen walks in. He glares at Chanyeol, snatching the piece of meat off Chanyeol’s chopsticks and gobbling it down himself. He’ll spare Chanyeol’s shin today. 

Chanyeol’s cackling away, so Baekhyun goes over and put him in a tight headlock until he’s wheezing. Baekhyun’s about to let go himself when Kyungsoo grabs the back of his shirt and pulls him back to his seat, forcefully making him release Chanyeol, hissing under his breath about the both of them being embarrassing.

“Congrats, hyung, you just made a fool out of yourself in front of Chen,” Sehun shakes his head.

“He’s not here,” Baekhyun retorts. “Not you too.”

“But he is,” Jongin adds on, gesturing to the door of the restaurant with a slight nod of his head.

Baekhyun turns around to play along, but he ends up choking on the beef he’s chewing on because Chen’s really there. His friends begin laughing at him, Kyungsoo the only one to offer him a glass of water while patting his back. Unsurprisingly, Chanyeol attracts Chen’s attention with his volume alone and Baekhyun wants to hide when Chen’s eyes brighten. Chen recognises him and Baekhyun doesn’t hesitate to pinch Chanyeol in his side to shut him up. He’s the biggest embarrassment in their group.

Chen grabs a table near Baekhyun’s, diagonally across from them. Baekhyun has a perfect view of Chen but he doesn’t look, chooses to give the star his private time. He doesn’t know how it really feels but Baekhyun figures it wouldn’t be nice to have someone watching you eat. He focuses on finishing his own food, also helping Kyungsoo grill the meat and cutting it up into pieces. Jongin raises his eyebrows when Baekhyun suddenly starts placing the meat in all their bowls, while Sehun snickers because he knows exactly what Baekhyun is up to.

“Your ears are giving you away,” Kyungsoo mentions nonchalantly.

Baekhyun whimpers and hides his face in Kyungsoo’s sleeve, leaning into the boy’s touch when he raises his arm to sling it around Baekhyun’s shoulders. Jongin shakes his head at Chanyeol and Sehun who are both trying to keep their volume low as they cackle at Baekhyun’s embarrassment, glancing backwards at Chen for a slight moment.

“He’s not looking,” Jongin lets Baekhyun know. “Did you tell your friend that he’s here?”

Baekhyun perks up at the mention of his friend, pulls his phone out of his pocket to send Dae a message. The first time he was at the same restaurant as Chen, Dae wasn’t around to share his joy.

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
chen’s at the same meat restaurant as i am now (*´∀`*)

Baekhyun doesn’t expect a reply, Dae probably busy at work at this time like he always is, but a reply comes within seconds.

to: byunbaek  
from: kimdae92  
really? exciting! how is he?

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
i didn’t look, thought i’d give him privacy (〃￣ω￣〃)ゞ

to: byunbaek  
from: kimdae92  
i have a feeling he wouldn’t mind if you said hi!

“Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo calls. “Did you say Dae’s using a Chen picture as his profile pic?”

Baekhyun hums in response, eyes fixed on his phone as he exchanges a few more messages with Dae. With his attention solely on his phone, he doesn’t hear everyone at his table going quiet. He doesn’t notice all of them looking back and forth in between him and Chen, and most importantly, he misses out on Chen making eye contact with all his friends, his finger pressed against his lips as his other hand holds his phone.

“You’re one of my best friends, and I love you,” Kyungsoo sighs. “But you’re such an idiot.”

“Hey,” Baekhyun squawks.

Kyungsoo doesn’t offer a response to that and Baekhyun decides to drop the topic. It’s only a few minutes later that they’re all done with the food, the meat gobbled up mostly by Jongin and Sehun. Unlike the last time, Baekhyun leaves before Chen, to whom he greets with a small nod and smile which he gets in return. It’s only a slight smile and their exchange was so short that nobody would have noticed, but it still leaves Baekhyun tingly for the rest of the day.

 

Baekhyun lies in bed, staring up at his ceiling with the covers up to his chin. It’s a Sunday morning and he’s too comfortable to move. His phone lays by his side and he glances at it to see if he has any notifications. His screen lights up just then, messages from Chanyeol flooding the group chat as usual. Seeing that he has no messages from Dae, he closes his eyes and attempts to go back to sleep, but his mind is plagued with thoughts of a certain boy he’s never even met.

Now that Chen’s promotions are officially over, Baekhyun has significantly more time so he’s been picking up client projects, a few at a time. He’s mostly busy during the day, working diligently and only taking breaks to get food or more coffee to keep himself from dozing off. He normally doesn’t respond to messages on his phone until office hours are over, but he always gets distracted when his phone vibrates with a particular ring tone he’s set for notifications from Dae.

Dae has been messaging him a lot lately, claiming to have taken a break from work for a few weeks. Baekhyun told him he’d done a great job taking time off, because he thought Dae was going to collapse from exhaustion with how much he was working. Dae replied and told Baekhyun not to be silly, because there’s no way he could collapse with so many co-workers looking over him. It still doesn’t lessen Baekhyun’s worries.

Their conversations are pretty much the same, accounts of their days and laughing over silly cat videos. However, something’s different. Their messages seem to be more intimate, more affectionate, and Baekhyun wonders if he’s the only one who feels that way. Dae has started letting him in more, sharing little snippets of his private life outside work. He lets Baekhyun know when he’s working out, when he’s cooking, when he’s going to sleep, and while Baekhyun doesn’t understand the sudden change, he likes it and doesn’t want to question it.

The one thing Baekhyun does want to question is Dae’s reluctance to meet in person. Baekhyun’s absolutely sure that Dae is real, because sometimes he sends pictures of his surroundings and his feet, which Baekhyun searches on Google to make sure it’s not a picture from the Internet. It just isn’t fair that Dae knows what he looks like, knows what he does for a living, but Baekhyun knows next to nothing about Dae. Whenever Baekhyun tries to bring it up, Dae changes the topic and Baekhyun has no choice but to go along with it. 

Baekhyun groans and rolls over, burying his face in his pillow. He never thought that he’d be able to start developing feelings for someone he’s never met, but here he is. He’s still not completely sure if he likes Dae, but he’s getting there. It’s the little things that Baekhyun notices – Dae always starts the conversation by asking how he’s doing and expresses concern when Baekhyun mentions he’s exhausted, how he shows Baekhyun pictures of his surroundings and tells him they’d go together one day, how he always reminds Baekhyun to eat and rest when he’s swamped with client projects – and while those are things that even friends do, Baekhyun’s heart starts beating a little weirdly in his chest whenever Dae does it. It’s like he can feel Dae’s sincerity even through typed words and it’s dangerous because he doesn’t know how Dae really feels.

At this point in time, getting Dae to meet him in person seems like a miracle.

Baekhyun whines into his pillow, thrashes his legs about at how unfair everything is. He picks up his phone and makes to call Kyungsoo when he receives a notification from Twitter. It’s from Chen’s agency’s official account, and Baekhyun sits up the moment he reads the tweet. He retweets it before he switches to another application.

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
CHEN’S HAVING HIS FIRST SOLO CONCERT!!! ｡ﾟ✶ฺ.ヽ(*´∀`*)ﾉ.✶ฺﾟ｡

Baekhyun puts aside all his complicated feelings, rejoicing at the news of Chen’s first solo concert. It’s been three years since his debut, and while he racked up quite a reputation and a large fanclub right from the start, he’s never had a concert at the stadium. Baekhyun’s delighted and proud – his favourite has finally made it.

to: byunbaek  
from: kimdae92  
you’re so fast lmao i just saw the notice! so excited!

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
you’re definitely going, right? there’s no way you can miss this... maybe we can finally meet?

A reply doesn't come as fast as Baekhyun expects it to, and it makes Baekhyun bite on his nails as he waits. He's fidgety, keeps his eyes on his phone screen. He gives up after a whole five minutes, switching to his group chat to finally entertain Chanyeol who's been going on about his latest composition.

__**Baekhyun** : who's going to Chen's concert with me?  
 **Chanyeol** : nobody  
 **Baekhyun** : no more pictures of girl groups then  
 **Sehun** : THAT'S NOT FAIR  
 **Kyungsoo** : i might have to bring my cousin, i can go with you  
 **Baekhyun** : i knew there's a reason why you're my favourite  
 **Jongin** : i thought i was your favourite :'( 

Baekhyun chuckles to himself and makes a mental note to drop by Jongin and Sehun's dorm room with chicken. He's checking his schedule to figure out when would be most convenient to do so when a message from Dae comes in. Baekhyun takes a deep breath, taps on the message notification with a shaky finger.

to: byunbaek  
from: kimdae92  
yes, we can. i'm clearing out my schedule for the day. but i'm getting a cheaper ticket so i'll meet you after the show? we can go grab coffee or something :)

Baekhyun screams, throwing his phone away from him and smooshing his face in his pillow to muffle them. Giggles escape his mouth non-stop, giddy at the thought of finally being able to meet Dae. Baekhyun doesn't hold back the grin on his face, his body quivering with excitement as he pictures meeting Dae in his head. The concert is still two months away, but Baekhyun has never looked forward to anything this much.

 

The two months leading up to the concert is crazily packed for Baekhyun with two client projects due close to each other. On top of that, he's also producing a support slogan for Chen's concert, and the designer in him refuses to settle for anything less than best. He spends his extra time designing to the best of his ability, also looking for quality material and printing shops.

Dae goes back to work, returning to his crazy work schedule and reducing their chatting time significantly. He hardly ever comes online anymore, only logging in to reply in the early morning before he knocks out. It’s rare to be able to talk to him for anything more than five minutes in the day, and Baekhyun’s worried. He doesn’t say anything about it though – he doesn’t want to seem too clingy even though he’s concerned about Dae’s wellbeing. They also haven’t really discussed their meeting location and time, but Baekhyun puts that thought at the back of his mind because there’s still a lot of time.

Baekhyun gets an email from another fansite one month before the concert, requesting a collaboration to hold a support event during the concert itself. Baekhyun agrees, taking on the design part of the project while the other fansite master posts notices on Twitter to inform fans about the banner event they’ll be holding. Baekhyun makes the banner white with black text, a simple design so that Chen will be able to read it clearly.

No matter how busy he is, Baekhyun still makes time to meet his friends for dinner twice a week. Kyungsoo is still going to the concert with him, bringing his young cousin along. Baekhyun’s purchased tickets for them all and of course he’s bought the most expensive ones to get the best seats in the house. Kyungsoo chides him, telling him he should have bought the cheaper ones for him and his cousin, but Baekhyun waves it off. He’s rewarded with a light punch to his arm after he tells Kyungsoo that he can pay him back for the concert tickets with food.

 

The day of the concert arrives quickly, and Baekhyun’s thrilled. He’s slept only a few hours, staying up to make sure he’s packed everything, like the event banners and his own support slogans, and his camera. He brings a few spare batteries and memory cards, keeping them all inside his camera bag. He gets to the venue early and sets up his spot somewhere near the entrance for him to distribute the event banners. His support slogans are by pre-order only, and he gives them out to those who have bought them. Baekhyun doesn’t usually bring extras in case people try to persuade him into selling it to them, but today he brings two extra sets for Dae and Kyungsoo’s cousin.

Baekhyun can’t wait for the concert to start, but a small part of him also can’t wait for the concert to end so that he can finally meet Dae in person. He’s curious about what Dae looks like, how he sounds, how he behaves. If Dae ends up to be a creepy man, he’ll just run away after Kyungsoo socks him in the face. It’s nice to have a friend who doesn’t hold back on harming others when it comes to self-defence.

Kyungsoo meets him two hours before the concert starts, dragging him away to grab a bite to eat and lots to drink before Baekhyun loses his voice screaming out for Chen, like he knows he will. Baekhyun feels proud of himself when Kyungsoo’s cousin is delighted at the support slogan Baekhyun gifts her with, the little girl cooing at the photocards that come in the set.

“Her mum’s going to scream at me,” Kyungsoo sighs, pushing his hair back with his hand.

“Just tell her it was free,” Baekhyun grins. “Older ladies love free stuff.”

“Did you make a profit out of this?” Kyungsoo asks, looking at the slogan interestedly. “It’s very nice.”

“Just a dollar from each set,” Baekhyun shrugs. “I sold about 2000 sets. The money’s going into Chen’s birthday event next year.”

“As expected from Chen’s biggest fansite.”

“Of course.”

 

The trio end up having to run to the venue ten minutes before gates open, getting to the front of the queue with the numbers on their tickets. Photography usually isn’t allowed and Baekhyun’s more than ready for his camera to be taken away, but the security guard only scrutinises his face for a few long seconds before letting him pass through with his camera bag. It’s weird, but Baekhyun doesn’t complain. It’s even weirder when he notices that almost all the fansites had their cameras confiscated, and Baekhyun can feel the eyes of the other fansite masters on him.

“They’re all glaring at you,” Kyungsoo whispers into his ear.

“I know,” Baekhyun replies. “I don’t care. They’ll think I have special connections, but I really don’t. Maybe they let me through because I’m just too good-looking.”

Kyungsoo snorts, muttering something that sounds a little like _for now_ under his breath but Baekhyun ignores him. The lights have started to dim, and Baekhyun takes his camera out of the bag. He fixes his lens on, his favourite one that has given him the best photos of Chen he’s ever taken. He hangs the camera around his neck, hands at the ready to snap away. Normally he has to hide and shoot, so when he spots a security guard coming his way, he crouches and tries to hide his camera. It’s futile, because Baekhyun clearly sees the security guard’s eyes on his camera, and he sighs. He starts to take off the camera strap, but he freezes when the guard looks at his face. He doesn’t move for a few seconds, maintaining eye contact with the guard, and the guard only nods his head slightly before walking away after a while.

“I told you,” Kyungsoo shakes his head. “You’re an idiot.”

“Language,” Baekhyun chides, placing his hands over Kyungsoo’s cousin’s ears.

“Kyungsoo has said worse words around me,” the little girl replies, uselessly bright.

“Bad influence,” Baekhyun clicks his tongue.

Kyungsoo doesn’t get a chance to reply because the lights dim completely, the starting beats of the first song on the set list blasting through the speakers. The bass is heavy, and from the first few seconds, Baekhyun already knows what song it’ll be. It’s one of Chen’s faster dance songs, so Baekhyun sets his shutter speed on high and aims the camera at Chen when he jumps up from below the stage.

Adrenaline keeps Baekhyun going even as his arms start to ache halfway into the concert, but when the fans start pushing, he decides he has enough pictures and keeps his camera inside its bag while Chen goes backstage for an outfit change. Kyungsoo helps him while he does it, glaring at anyone who pushes and protecting his cousin at the same time.

Everything seems lighter without the camera without his neck, physically and mentally, and Baekhyun enjoys the rest of the concert. Chen performs nearly all the songs from all his album releases to date, and Baekhyun screams along to the lyrics with Kyungsoo’s cousin joining him. Kyungsoo keeps quiet but Baekhyun knows he’s glad both his cousin and his best friend are having a good time. Kyungsoo doesn’t have to say it for Baekhyun to know.

 

The concert comes to an end quicker than Baekhyun would like it to, Chen saying his ending ment and thanking all the fans for coming to his first concert. Baekhyun swears he can see the tears well up in Chen’s eyes and he smiles to himself, his eyes watering as well. He’s been with Chen every step since his debut. He knows it hasn’t been easy and, as a long-time fan, Baekhyun feels proud seeing Chen on stage. He’s alone, but his stage presence is strong.

“I saw all your banners,” Chen says. “I’m very touched. Thank you.”

Baekhyun joins the fans in chanting Chen’s name, and they get two more songs as encore before it comes to an official end. He stays in his spot, but Kyungsoo leads the three of them to the side so they won’t block the other fans from leaving the stadium. The time has come for him to meet Dae, and even though he knows that Kyungsoo will be with him, Baekhyun’s extremely nervous.

“What if he’s a creepy old guy?” Baekhyun asks Kyungsoo, biting on his own lip.

“Then I’ll punch him and we’ll all run away,” Kyungsoo replies. “Message him. Now.”

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
hey, we’re still meeting right? i have something for you too :)

“I feel so pathetic,” Baekhyun sighs. “I don’t even have his number. It’s only through this stupid app.”

“It’ll be okay,” Kyungsoo reassures him. “There, he replied.”

to: byunbaek  
from: kimdae92  
yes, of course! i.. have something for you too. go to a security guard nearest to you and tell him you’re Baekhyun. don’t question, just do it :)

“I can’t believe this,” Baekhyun gapes. “Is he trying to play a joke?”

“Just try it,” Kyungsoo urges him. “But tell him you have friends with you.”

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
okay… but i have two friends with me. is that okay?

to: byunbaek  
from: kimdae92  
yes, of course!

Baekhyun walks over to the nearest security guard, Kyungsoo and his cousin trailing behind him. The guard presses his earpiece into his ear just then, listening to whatever the other side is saying while eyeing Baekhyun. Baekhyun watches, jittery, and doesn’t move forward until the security guard whispers a _roger_ into his headpiece.

“Hi,” Baekhyun greets, smiling. “I’m Baekhyun an–”

“Baekhyun,” the guard nods his head. “Follow me.”

The guard turns around and says something into his headpiece that Baekhyun doesn’t catch. He starts walking towards an area where only authorised personnel are allowed, and Baekhyun hesitates before Kyungsoo pushes him in from the back. They’re led backstage, the guard occasionally turning back to make sure that Baekhyun is still following him.

“This has to be a joke,” Baekhyun whispers to Kyungsoo. “What would Dae be doing here?”

“I don’t think anyone can be as stupid as you are right now.”

“Hey,” Baekhyun retorts. “I’m not dumb.”

“You are,” Kyungsoo’s little cousin adds in, and Baekhyun groans when Kyungsoo gives her a pat on the head.

The guard stops outside an unmarked door, steps aside and gestures for Baekhyun to enter. Baekhyun looks around, and all the staff members around are looking at him with smiles on their faces. Baekhyun can’t grasp the situation now, but he knows that the first thing he’ll do is chew Dae out for putting him in this situation.

“Are you going in or not?” Kyungsoo asks, nudging Baekhyun in his back.

Baekhyun opens the door slowly, peeking in. The first thing he notices is racks and racks of clothes, and the second thing he sees is a vanity mirror with light bulbs all around the sides. There’s nobody in sight and he scoffs, stepping into the room fully with Kyungsoo and his cousin behind him. Baekhyun hears the door close and he turns around to face Kyungsoo with his arms crossed, about to whine that he’s disappointed Dae has played him like this, but the words die on his lips when he sees the extra person behind Kyungsoo.

“Chen?” Baekhyun says, alarmed and arms dropping to his sides. “I think we entered the wrong room, so we’ll be on ou–”

“You’re in the right room,” Chen smiles, stepping forward. “Hi, Baekhyun.”

“Hello?” Baekhyun replies, terribly confused.

Baekhyun takes a moment, takes a step back and looks around. There’s no one else in the room. Chen’s standing in front of him in the all-white suit he was wearing on stage, looking the same as he did at the music show recording Baekhyun attended, only that now he’s perspiring quite a bit and Baekhyun can see the beads of sweat running down the sides of his face. He wants to wipe it off for him.

“But,” Baekhyun stutters. “I’m supposed to meet someone else.”

Baekhyun can’t help but gape at Chen, and Kyungsoo groans, hiding his face in his hands. Chen chuckles. Baekhyun feels his face going red, and he’s sure his ears already bright red from the way they’re burning.

“Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo starts, sighing. “Send Dae a message.”

to: kimdae92  
from: byunbaek  
i followed the guard like you asked me to, but now i’m standing in front of chen? is this a joke?

Baekhyun sends the message out, rocking on the balls of his feet and staring down at his phone. His head shoots up when he hears someone’s phone go off, and he sees Chen checking his own phone. He expects nothing, but Chen steps forward and shows Baekhyun his phone screen.

It’s the same message that Baekhyun just sent out.

Then everything clicks. The profile picture, the name, the Chen would be this, Chen would be that, all the celebrity gossip Dae knew, Dae being busy all the time, always missing when Chen’s busy promoting but always free when Chen has no schedules. Baekhyun’s jaw drops, and his eyes dart between Chen and his phone. Realisation dawns upon him.

“Oh,” Baekhyun says. “You’re right, I am dumb,” he tells Kyungsoo.

“Took you long enough,” Kyungsoo sighs, knocking Baekhyun on his head. “We’ll be going now.”

“Wait,” Chen stops them.

Baekhyun observes as Chen walks over to a couch Baekhyun hadn’t noticed in the room. He digs into a bag and pulls out a copy of his latest album, then searches around for a marker, grabbing it before he walks back to where they’re all standing. He asks for Kyungsoo’s cousin’s name and signs it on the album, gives it to the little girl when he’s done. Kyungsoo’s cousin is delighted, daring to come forward and she gives Chen a big hug. Her head only reaches the top part of Chen’s stomach, and the singer gives her head an affectionate rub until she lets go.

“I’ll see you soon, Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo bids goodbye, shaking hands with Chen and giving Baekhyun a hug before he goes, his little cousin holding onto his hand tightly.

Then it’s just the two of them in the room, and Baekhyun doesn’t know what to do.

He starts thinking of all the things he was stressed over, like his feelings for Chen, the idol, and how he wanted to get rid of them by signing up on that dating site, only to meet Chen with another identity. He thinks of all the times he’s laid in bed and wondered if having feelings for Dae was right, of the times he doubted himself and his feelings so much he had to go to Kyungsoo for him to sort out his feelings. Most of all, he thinks of the rapport he and Dae had built over the last few months and how he likes it, likes Dae, likes their friendship.

He’d be crazy to let go.

“So is this why you didn’t want to meet?” Baekhyun asks, looking at Chen.

Chen leads him to the couch by the hand, and sits him down. Baekhyun feels his skin burn at the physical contact, and he wants more, but he holds himself back from touching Chen. He stays still as Chen sits beside him, their knees touching.

“I didn’t mean to deceive you, I’m sorry,” Chen apologises. “I thought you knew, because Dae is just a shorter name for Jongdae, my real name, as you may already know.”

“Nobody would expect to meet their favourite singer on a dating site,” Baekhyun laughs softly, maintaining eye contact with Chen, or rather, Jongdae.

Jongdae chuckles, his eyes crinkling up in the way Baekhyun loves. Baekhyun lets his eyes roam Jongdae’s face, and Jongdae doesn’t move. Jongdae seems to be perspiring more now, making Baekhyun realise that he’s probably just as nervous as he is. He turns around, looking for a piece of tissue, and when he finds it, he brings it up to Jongdae’s face. Their eyes meet, and Jongdae nods slightly to let him know that it’s okay. Baekhyun proceeds to slowly wipe off Jongdae’s perspiration, a smile forming on his face as he concentrates.

“What are you smiling at?” Jongdae asks, his hand coming up to grab Baekhyun’s and he brings it down to his lap.

Baekhyun startles at the contact, his heartbeat rapidly increasing, and he doesn’t hesitate to lace Jongdae’s fingers with his. It’s a nice fit. Baekhyun marvels at how well their fingers seem to fit together, only snapping out of it when Jongdae squeezes his hand.

“I just never expected this to happen,” Baekhyun answers.

He’s smiling now. He expected Dae to be someone else, but this is even better.

“You said you had something for me?” Jongdae reminds him, grinning.

“Oh,” Baekhyun remembers. “It’s nothing.”

“I doubt it. Show me,” Jongdae prods.

Baekhyun contemplates it for a while, wondering if he should give Jongdae the Chen support slogan set he had brought. He was leaning towards no, but the way Jongdae is looking at him and just waiting has him caving in.

“It’s stupid,” Baekhyun says, handing Chen the translucent zipper bag the slogan is placed in. “You don’t have to take it if you don’t want it.”

“It’s cute,” Jongdae beams as he takes the slogan out.

The photocards fall out, and Baekhyun picks them up for Jongdae as the latter opens up the slogan. It reads ‘MY CHENSHINE’ and Baekhyun kind of wants to hide, but Jongdae is smiling so brightly that Baekhyun feels like he’s going blind from it soon.

“So this is what Funky Orange has been up to,” Jongdae raises his eyebrows, shuffling through the set of photocards.

“Funky Orange will always try their best to give the highest level of support for Chen,” Baekhyun grins as he helps Jongdae keep the slogan and the photocards back into the zipper bag.

“Baekhyun,” Jongdae starts, suddenly sounding serious. “This isn’t going to be easy, I’m really nervous right now, but hear me out, okay?”

Baekhyun nods, his eyes fixed on Jongdae’s face. He thinks he knows what’s coming, but he doesn’t want to let his hopes up just in case he gets disappointed.

“I was on that dating site for ages, but I never found anyone who recognised me until you came along. I thought you’d freak out, but you just told me off for using someone else’s picture,” Jongdae lets out a little laugh. “I never expected to keep in contact with you, I never expected it to lead to where we are now.”

“And where exactly are we?” Baekhyun asks softly.

“Here. Me, Kim Jongdae, liking you, Byun Baekhyun,” Jongdae confesses, eyes meeting Baekhyun’s.

Baekhyun’s face is already red, but he flushes even more when Jongdae says his full name. It makes him feel funny, butterflies forming in his stomach, and he’s never felt this way before. So this is what it feels like to have someone return your feelings, Baekhyun figures.

“All our little conversations and coincidental meet ups have led to this moment, but I have to tell you. If you’d allow me, if you’d let me have you, it won’t be easy,” Jongdae says, and his choice of words make Baekhyun’s legs go weak. “But I’m willing to try.”

“Jongdae,” Baekhyun calls. “This will be risking everything you’ve worked so hard for. I can’t have that, not when I’ve watched you all this while.”

“I know,” Jongdae replies immediately. Holding Baekhyun’s hand with both of his, Jongdae continues, “But I’m willing, if only you’d allow me.”

Baekhyun recalls all that Jongdae’s been through, and even from his point of view, it hadn’t been easy. For Jongdae to put everything on the line for this, for _him_ , is something that’s incredibly risky, but for once, Baekhyun wants to be selfish. Baekhyun wants to say yes.

“Will this be okay?” Baekhyun asks. “With your agency?”

“They already know,” Jongdae smiles. “I told them I’d be confessing today.”

Jongdae’s hands lets go of Baekhyun’s, coming up to cradle his face gently. Jongdae’s hands are warm against his skin, the flush of his cheeks dying down a bit. Baekhyun waits for Jongdae to come closer, watches as Jongdae closes his eyes and leans in. He’s moving agonisingly slowly, so Baekhyun decides to take matters into his own hands. He’s never been patient, anyway.

Baekhyun tilts his head forward and covers Jongdae’s lips with his own, giving him just a quick peck. He makes to pull away, but Jongdae’s hands on his face keep him in place as Jongdae kisses him hard. It catches Baekhyun by surprise, but it also lets Baekhyun know that Jongdae’s totally okay with this, so Baekhyun plucks up the courage and scoots closer. He breaks the kiss, pushes Jongdae back by his shoulders and makes him lean against the back of the sofa before climbing on top of him.

“Is this okay?” Baekhyun asks again, seeing how taken aback Jongdae seems to be.

Jongdae doesn’t respond, only wraps a hand around the back of Baekhyun’s neck. He shivers, being extremely sensitive, and the smirk slowly forming on Jongdae’s face means he’s found out. Jongdae’s fingers play with the hair at his nape, bringing his head down to kiss him again. Baekhyun melts against Jongdae’s body, lets Jongdae’s fingers dip into the waistband of his jeans. He sighs into Jongdae’s mouth, unconsciously grinding his hips down when Jongdae bites at his bottom lip, and Jongdae moans. Baekhyun feels like he’s hit jackpot, because not in a million years would he imagine that Jongdae would be moaning in front of him, _for_ him.

There’s a knock on the door just as Baekhyun was about to take things further, and he practically throws himself off of Jongdae’s lap. He takes one good look at Jongdae, taking in the sight of Jongdae’s red lips, messy hair, and he’s pretty sure that’s a little tent in his pants. Baekhyun mentally pats himself on the back, feeling proud that he was the one who made Jongdae like this.

“Jongdae,” a voice calls from outside, and Baekhyun recognises it to be his manager. “We need to go. The stadium is closing.”

Baekhyun looks the clock and curses when he realises it’s past midnight, and he’s missed his last train home. He takes his phone out and starts to call Chanyeol, the only one who can drive and has a car in their group, to ask him come fetch him home.

“What are you doing?” Jongdae questions, starting to pack up his things.

“Asking a friend to come get me.”

“You’re coming with me,” Jongdae states.

“You’re crazy,” Baekhyun deadpans. “Trust me, there are still fans out there who are still waiting for you, and they will recognise me.”

“I’m prepared for that,” Jongdae grins, pulling out a windbreaker with ‘STAFF’ written on the back and a black cap. “This is your disguise.”

Baekhyun ends the call with Chanyeol who didn’t even pick up the phone. He slips the windbreaker on, and it’s so big on him that it hangs off his frame. There’s enough space and length for him to hide his camera bag inside, and Baekhyun supposes it isn’t really that bad. He plucks the cap from Jongdae’s fingers next, putting it on his head and using the big mirror next to him to start fixing his hair.

The door opens, and Jongdae’s manager walks in. His stylists and the rest of his staff file in, scrambling around the room to grab all their things. He feels bad for making them wait outside, but his worries disappear when Jongdae grabs his hand and pulls him out the door.

“I hope you noticed,” Jongdae says as they walk down the hallway towards the back of the building. “I kept this outfit on for you.”

“I did,” Baekhyun smiles, stopping momentarily to give him a peck on his cheek. “My Prince Charming.” 

 

For the first time in a long while, Baekhyun wakes up next to somebody in a bed that’s not his own, his clothes in a pile on the floor. The last time had been a stranger after Baekhyun got too drunk to drag his own ass home, judgment clouded by the alcohol he’d consumed. This time, it’s someone Baekhyun definitely knows, someone who’s welcome.

Baekhyun’s the first to rise, propping his head on his hand as he stares at the boy sleeping next to him. He brings his finger up to Jongdae’s face, lightly tracing his eyes, to his nose, and down to his lips. Jongdae’s lips are still slightly red and swollen, and Baekhyun smiles smugly. He’ll never stop being proud of being able to render Jongdae into a mess.

“Good morning,” Jongdae greets, voice husky with sleep, as he opens his eyes.

Baekhyun hums, sliding down the bed and scooting closer to Jongdae when he puts his arm out. Baekhyun uses it as a pillow, turns his body so he’s snuggled into Jongdae’s warmth. He can feel Jongdae nuzzle his hair and he sighs happily, using his finger to trace patterns on Jongdae’s bare chest this time round.

“Do you want to go out and get food?” Jongdae asks after a moment of silence. 

“No,” Baekhyun answers with a sly smile, swinging his leg over Jongdae’s and climbing on top of him. “I’d rather have a repeat performance of last night.”

Jongdae seems to agree, grinning as he pulls Baekhyun down to kiss him senseless.

As Jongdae bites at his lips and pulls at his hair, legs tangling with his, Baekhyun feels like he’ll never be happier than he is now. Dating a celebrity won’t be easy and he’s sure there’ll be many obstacles in their way, but as long as he’s got Jongdae next to him, Baekhyun knows he’s got nothing to fear. With Jongdae by his side as they support each other, he will be happy.


End file.
